An Ideal Bookshelf for Fil-Am History Month
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Filipino-authored books are the subject of this collectible art print by illustrator Jane Mount in collaboration with bookstore owner Christine Bollow. (Photo courtesy of Ideal Bookshelf)
October is Filipino American History Month (FAHM), marking the arrival of Filipinos in continental North America on October 18, 1587. Since then, Filipinos have made many contributions in the United States including literature.
Made for last year’s FAHM, this art print is the initiative of Filipino American Christine Bollow, co-owner and Programs Director for Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, DC. “We are a Black and Filipina, queer, disabled, and neurodiverse owned bookstore. Our aim is to be a store where folks from marginalized communities can see themselves on our shelves and in our event line-up. It’s incredibly important for us to be a place of safety and inclusivity,” says Christine.
Christine Bollow is the co-owner and Programs Director for Loyalty Bookstores, an independent and inclusive bookshop in Washington DC. She is passionate about championing books by marginalized authors both at Loyalty and on Bookstagram @readingismagical. (Photo courtesy of Christine Bollow)
“I have noticed that many publishers and organizations will forgo lists or recommendations highlighting authors and books for FAHM. Whether they don’t know or don’t care, it’s maddening and disappointing every year. I always try to do what I can, personally and professionally, in championing authors of Filipino descent and supporting other Filipino-owned bookstores and Filipino content creators.”
“Last year, I reached out to Jane Mount and asked if she was making a graphic for FAHM in October, as she’s done for other months. She didn’t have plans for it yet, but thankfully loved the idea. It means so much that she took time out to do this and was eager to collaborate with me!”
Jane Mount is an American illustrator, designer, and creator of Ideal Bookshelf, a shop that makes things for booklovers like custom art prints and stationery. She is also the author of several books including Bibliophile: Diverse Spines, spotlighting underrepresented authors and bookstores owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
Illustrator Jane Mount and bookstore owner Christine Bollow joined forces to create the art print, Ideal Bookshelf: Filipino American History Month. (Photo courtesy of Christine Bollow)
Jane says, “I absolutely love working on projects like this because I get to work with brilliant folks like yourself and I get to learn about books that I probably wouldn’t have found on my own, and help others find those stories and experiences.”
Jane and Christine met through the Bookstagram community (the bookish corner of Instagram) back in 2018. “At that time, Bookstagram was a magical place where the community was smaller, and it felt easier to build relationships with fellow book lovers,” recalls Christine.
They struck up a friendship over books and their love of animals, nature, and Hawaii, which is where Jane currently lives and where Christine’s husband is from. She’s also a “huge fan” of Jane’s artwork and bookish items created for Ideal Bookshelf.”
“When Jane collaborated with Jamise Harper of the Diverse Spines book community to write their book Bibliophile: Diverse Spines, Jane asked me if I’d make a book recommendation. I recommended America Is Not The Heart by Elaine Castillo, which is one of my favorite books! Loyalty Bookstores, which I co-own, is also featured in Bibliophile: Diverse Spines, and we were honored to host a launch event for this book.”
In selecting books for the art print, Christine says she focused on books she has read, recommend, and “shout about from the rooftops!” She wanted to have a good mix of age ranges, genres, and made sure there was queer representation, too.
“I aimed to have a good mix of heavy hitters, such as classics like Noli Mi Tangere and Dogeaters; award winners like Hello Universe, and from independent publishers such as Abundance and Insurrecto. Basically, books that people would likely recognize and books that possibly haven’t been discovered yet.”
Loyalty Bookstores was the venue of the Liwanag Filipino Lit Fest DC in October 2024. Attendees got to meet their favorite Filipino American authors. (Photo by Amanda Faye Lacson)
As a big fan of genre fiction and graphic novels, she was eager to include books like The Vanished Birds, The Bone Witch, and Flamer. As someone who’s biracial, she also included authors readers might not know are part-Filipino, like Kali Fajardo-Anstine, who wrote Sabrina & Corina, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders.
It was really challenging to whittle down the list, she says. “I’d love to have multiple versions of this art print in the future. We could break it down into adult books, kids books, nonfiction, fiction, speculative fiction, and romance. That would be so amazing!”
Christine tries her best to keep track of Filipino authors, but it gets challenging since more are being published every year, “which is fantastic.” That being said, there should be more books published and promoted by Filipino authors, and beyond that, Southeast Asian and BIPOC authors in general, she says.
“When I attend various book-sellers’ conferences each year, we’re lucky if there’s one or two Filipino-authored books in the ‘galley room’ where booksellers can pick up advance reader copies of not-yet-published books. A lot of times, imprints (the smaller division of a publishing company) only have one or two authors of Filipino descent on their whole list, which is really disappointing.”
In selecting books for the art print, Christine says she focused on books she has read, recommend, and “shout about from the rooftops!”
For authors, Christine gives this advice: “There are readers excited to read your work. There are Filipinos in the book industry who are doing the work behind the scenes and are eager to support you and your books! It makes such a difference when authors make an effort to support AAPI-owned, BIPOC-owned bookstores, and especially Filipino-owned bookstores. It’s amazing that there are Filipino-owned bookstores here in the US! We have a very collaborative and supportive relationship with each other.”
To readers she says: “Talk about these books and authors! Recommend them to friends and family, give them as presents, suggest them for book clubs. Buy the books if you can, request them from the library, pre-order them to let publishers know you’re excited for the book. All this really helps authors! Support Filipino-owned bookstores if you can, even if it’s through Bookshop.org if you don’t physically live near one. Listen to the audiobook, many of which are narrated by Filipino voiceover actors and narrators. Subscribe to the author's newsletter and follow them on social media. All these are metrics that can make a difference for publishers deciding to acquire a book and the marketing dollars they’ll put behind promoting an author,” Christine concludes.
Christine Bollow organized last year's Liwanag Filipino Lit Fest DC with authors from the diaspora in attendance. Front Row (left to right): Lysley Tenorio, Abi Balingit, M Evelina Galang, Annabelle Tometich, Matt Ortile, Gina Apostol. Standing (left to right): Regie Cabico, Christine Bollow. (Photo by Amanda Faye Lacson)
“Let’s support small businesses like Loyalty Bookstore. Let’s attend the Liwanag Lit Fest on October 25, 2025, in Long Beach, California, co-hosted by Filipina-owned Bel Canto Books. It takes place at the Michelle Obama Library (5870 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach, CA) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Expect readings, author signings, arts and crafts, and a vendor market. Just like Christine Bollow, may we champion Filipino books, not only during Filipino American History Month, but all year round.”
All are invited to the Liwanag Lit Fest in Long Beach, California. (Photo courtesy of Bel Canto Books)
The art print Ideal Bookshelf: Filipino American History Month can be purchased on ideal bookshelf.com where 5% of sales will go to the non-profit organization, We Need Diverse Books.
Claire Mercado-Obias is a writer, food stylist and pastry chef based in New Jersey.
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